Protect your lessons before sharing them with students, customers, or staff. Use playback passwords, device binding, viewer watermarks, and access limits to keep training content with its intended audience.
A learner can forward a course file in seconds. Protect the lessons before delivery, authorize playback for each enrollment, and keep a practical way to handle shared passwords, course expiry, refunds, and replacement computers.
For training videos you distribute as files, create a protected package in GiliSoft Video DRM Protection. Use PC Binding when access should belong to one learner's computer, add an enrollment watermark and expiration date, and configure online blacklist verification if you need to reject leaked or cancelled passwords. The goal is to control access to the protected content, even if the package file is copied.
Protecting a training video does not mean the package becomes impossible to copy. A learner may still forward the file or put a second copy on a USB drive. What matters is whether the recipient can play the protected lessons.
With PC Binding enabled, the Playback Password is created for a particular Machine Code. A copy of the package on a different computer still needs playback authorization for that computer; the original learner's password does not authorize the new PC.
A fixed password shared by all learners can travel with the file. For one-computer access, use the hardware-bound mode and issue each learner their own Playback Password. Keep that password linked to the enrollment record.
A viewer watermark adds another layer: a visible learner name or enrollment ID can help connect a redistributed recording to the issued access. It supports traceability; it does not replace encryption or device binding.
| Training-video risk | Useful control | What to verify |
|---|---|---|
| The course file is sent to a class group | Protected package and PC Binding | The package and issued password fail on an unapproved computer. |
| Several learners reuse one password | Individual, machine-bound Playback Passwords | Each enrollment has the correct Machine Code and its own access record. |
| A learner keeps watching after the course period | Expiration Date | The selected verification method and end date behave as intended. |
| A refund or leak requires access to be cancelled | Configured online password blacklist | The player rejects the password when it checks the updated list. |
| A learner records or republishes a lesson | Viewer watermark and anti-capture settings | The watermark is readable and the selected capture controls work in the target environment. |
Use an enrollment-specific password, an assigned PC, and a course end date. Keep a record of which credential to replace or cancel if a learner asks for support.
Choose the approved computer or delivery device, use an appropriate employee or batch identifier, and assign someone to manage access changes. Keep company offboarding policy in the corporate training security guide.
A shared password may be sufficient for a low-risk preview among known recipients when sharing that password is acceptable. It is not the right setting when the requirement is one enrolled learner on one computer. For web-course delivery, keep platform sign-in separate from the protection applied to files learners receive; see protecting e-learning videos.
Suppose a trainer sells a course containing 12 lessons and wants each enrollment to work on one Windows PC for 30 days. The following is an example setup, not a customer result or a limit of the software.
Send the protected course package and the learner's Playback Password, together with the player instructions and a support contact. Do not include the original lesson files or the publisher's Encryption Key.
Use the following settings for the one-learner, one-PC example. The screenshots show the actual controls; labels and available options can vary by edition.
Open DRM Video and use Add Files/Folders to add the lessons for this course edition. Check the list before continuing; keep the original source videos in the publisher's archive.
Set a recognizable Project ID and securely retain the Encryption Key. For the per-learner example below, choose the mode where one playback password works on one hardware-bound computer. Select the package format for the intended player.
Review Anti-Copy Settings for screen-capture and playback-environment controls. Keep ordinary learner tasks usable, and leave settings that forbid internet-connected playback off if your delivery needs online blacklist checks.
Enable and configure Play Password Blacklist for a project that needs to reject leaked or cancelled passwords. Set up the management access and verification service before generating the delivery package, then test a revoked test password.
Choose the output folder and whether the lessons belong in one package or separate packages, then use Encrypt now! to create the protected result. Keep the source videos and publisher key out of the learner's delivery folder.
After a learner opens the protected package on their PC, obtain their Machine Code. Use Create Play Password with the matching Encryption Key and that code, add the Text Watermark, and set the course expiration date. Send the generated Playback Password, not the Encryption Key.
Open the full Video DRM Protection user guide for individual setting details. This page focuses on the training-course delivery process rather than repeating every DRM feature.
| Test | Expected result |
|---|---|
| Approved learner PC | The correct password opens the lessons. Sound, seeking, captions or supporting material, and watermark placement work as required. |
| A copied package and the same password on another PC | PC-bound access is not accepted on the unapproved computer. |
| A short, test-only expiration date | Access ends as configured with the chosen verification method. Do not change the production computer's clock to test it. |
| A revoked test password | The player rejects it after checking the updated online blacklist. |
| The intended offline viewing mode | Playback behaves as promised, and support staff understand that a disconnected player cannot receive a new blacklist update immediately. |
| A legitimate computer replacement | The support team can verify enrollment and issue a new machine-bound password without disclosing the Encryption Key. |
The package file can still be copied or forwarded. Protection applies to access to the content inside it. When PC Binding is configured, a Playback Password created for one Machine Code does not authorize playback on a different computer. Test both the original and a copied package on an unapproved PC.
A fixed password can be shared, so it is not the right choice when each learner should be restricted to one computer. Use PC Binding and create the learner's Playback Password from their Machine Code. If a password is compromised, add it to the configured online blacklist; rejection takes effect when the player checks the updated list.
Choose the computer-bound playback mode when preparing the protected project. The learner opens the package on the intended PC and sends the displayed Machine Code to the publisher. Use that code and the matching Encryption Key in Create Play Password, then send the learner only the resulting Playback Password.
An appropriate package and authorization method can support offline viewing. Test that mode before delivery. An online blacklist cannot communicate a newly cancelled password to a disconnected player; do not treat remote revocation as an immediate offline control.
Keep a record of the Playback Password issued for each enrollment. When online blacklist verification was configured before release, add the cancelled password to the list so future checks reject it. For a planned course end, set an expiration date when issuing access. Verify both behaviors in your delivery setup.
Verify the enrollment, obtain the new computer's Machine Code, and create a replacement Playback Password for that device. Keep the original course end date unless an extension is intended. If the old password should no longer work, blacklist it when that verification was configured; an offline old device will not receive the update immediately.
Yes. Use viewer-specific Text Watermark when creating access. An enrollment ID, learner name, or delivery-batch label helps identify the issued copy during playback. Use a minimal identifier rather than exposing unnecessary personal information in the watermark.
Anti-copy and anti-capture settings can restrict supported software capture paths, and viewer watermarks add traceability. They cannot guarantee that every recording method is blocked or stop an external camera from filming a screen. Test the selected controls with the actual player and learner environment.
No. Keep the Encryption Key and Project ID in the publisher's project records. The Encryption Key is used to create access; the Playback Password is the credential sent to the learner. They are not interchangeable.
Protecting a new package does not retroactively encrypt or recall an ordinary MP4 already received by someone else. Start protected delivery before distributing the source files, and send learners the protected package rather than including the original videos alongside it.
Create protected lessons, issue access for your learners, and verify the complete course experience with GiliSoft Video DRM Protection.
